A bit of a strange one, this. It's a sequel to the ITV production of THE SUSPICIONS OF MR WHICHER: THE MURDER AT ROAD HILL HOUSE, which was in turn based on a book documenting a true-life murder case from the 19th century. THE MURDER IN ANGEL LANE has the same character this time investigating a fictional murder case in Victorian London. I suspect it was made to cash in on BBC1's successful RIPPER STREET, although this is a one-off drama.
The best thing about the production is Paddy Considine, who returns as Mr Whicher; older, wiser perhaps, and certainly more embittered. Considine gives a finely-judged and mature turn as Whicher, and he certainly holds the attention whenever he's on screen. It's a shame, then, that the rest of the story is so hackneyed and done-to-death.
The plot involves the murder of a young girl, seemingly robbed and killed on the street by a stranger. Inevitably, it transpires that the story runs much deeper than that, with all kinds of skeletons lurking in cupboards and mixed-up family secrets to complicate matters. It's passable fare, but there's nothing that hasn't been done before here, and better too.
The thing that most interested me was the cast; there are lots of half-familiar faces , and most of the actors give performances that are interesting at the very least. Ironically, the least interesting of the bunch is the most prominent, flavour-of-the-month Olivia Colman, who seems to give the same wide-eyed angsty turn in everything I've seen her in.
Still, with Considine steering the investigation it could be a lot worse, and it'll do as an adequate time-filler until RIPPER STREET comes back next year.
